Controversies during Congress rule
1975–1977: State of Emergency
On 12 June 1975 the High Court of Allahabad declared Indira Gandhi's election to the Lok Sabha void on grounds of electoral malpractice. But Gandhi rejected calls to resign and announced plans to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Gandhi had already been accused of authoritarianism. By using her strong parliamentary majority, her ruling Congress Party had amended the Constitution and altered the balance of power between the Centre and the States in favour of the Central Government. She had twice imposed "President's Rule" under Article 356 of the Constitution by declaring states ruled by opposition parties as "lawless and chaotic", and thus seizing control. In response to her new tendency for authoritarian use of power, public figures and former freedom-fighters like Jaya Prakash Narayan, Satyendra Narayan Sinha and Acharya Jivatram Kripalani toured India, speaking actively against her and her government.
Gandhi moved to restore order by ordering the arrest of most of the opposition participating in the unrest. Her Cabinet and government then recommended that President Fakhruddin Ali Ahmed declare a state of emergency, because of the disorder and lawlessness following the Allahabad High Court decision. Accordingly, Ahmed declared a State of Emergency caused by internal disorder, based on the provisions of Article 352 of the Constitution, on 26 June 1975. It is one of the most controversial periods in the history of independent India.[23]
1984: anti-Sikh riots
The 1984 anti-Sikhs riots or the 1984 Sikh Massacre were a series of pogroms[24][25][26][27] triggered by the assassination of Indira Gandhi, India's prime minister at that time. She was assassinated on 31 October 1984, by two of her Sikh bodyguards in response to her actions in authorising the Operation Blue Star military operation. Earlier in June 1984, during Operation Blue Star, Indira Gandhi had ordered the Indian Army to attack the Golden Temple and eliminate any insurgents, as it had been occupied by Sikh separatists who were stockpiling weapons. Later operations by Indian paramilitary forces had also been initiated before the assassination to clear the separatists from the countryside of Punjab state.[28]
The violence in Delhi, against Sikhs by anti-Sikh mobs, started on 31 October 1984, the day of the assassination of Indira Gandhi. There were more than 8,000[29] deaths, including 3,000 in Delhi.[26] Many Indian National Congress workers including Jagdish Tytler,Sajjan Kumar and Kamal Nath were accused of inciting and participating in riots targeting the Sikh population of the capital. The Indian government reported 2,700 deaths in the ensuing chaos. In the aftermath of the riots, the Indian government reported 20,000 had fled the city, however the People's Union for Civil Liberties reported "at least 50,000" displaced persons.[30] The most affected regions were the Sikh neighbourhoods in Delhi. The Central Bureau of Investigation, the main Indian investigating agency, is of the opinion that the acts of violence were organised with the support from the then Delhi police officials and the central government headed by Indira Gandhi's son, Rajiv Gandhi.[31] Rajiv Gandhi was sworn in as Prime Minister after his mother's death and, when asked about the riots, said "when a big tree falls (Mrs. Gandhi's death), the earth shakes" thus trying to justify the communal strife.[32]
The government, then led by the Congress, was widely criticised for doing very little at the time, possibly acting as a conspirator. Theconspiracy theory is supported by the fact that voting lists were used to identify Sikh families. On 31 October, Congress party officials provided assailants with voter lists, school registration forms, and ration lists.[33] The lists were used to find the location of Sikh homes and business, an otherwise impossible task because they were located in unmarked and diverse neighbourhoods. On the night of 31 October, the night before the massacres began, assailants used the lists to mark the houses of Sikhs with letter "S".[33] In addition, because most of the mobs were illiterate, Congress Party officials provided help in reading the lists and leading the mobs to Sikh homes and businesses in the other neighbourhoods.[34] By using the lists the mobs were able to pinpoint the locations of Sikhs they otherwise would have missed.[34]
There are allegations that the government destroyed evidence and shielded the guilty. The Asian Age front-page story called the government actions "the Mother of all Cover-ups"[35][36] There are allegations that the violence was led and often perpetrated by Indian National Congress activists and sympathisers during the riots.[19] The chief weapon used by the mobs, kerosene, was supplied by a group of Indian National Congress Party leaders who owned filling stations.[34]
Corruption scandals
Bofors scandal
The Bofors scandal was a major corruption scandal in India in the 1980s. Late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, who was simultaneously serving as the president of Congress (I), and his associates the late Win Chadha and Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi were accused of receiving kickbacks to help Bofors win a bid in 1986 to sell 155 mm field howitzers to the Indian Army. The scale of this corruption was far worse than any that India had seen before, and directly led to the defeat of Gandhi's ruling Congress party in the November 1989 general elections.[citation needed] It has been speculated that the scale of the scandal was to the tune of 
In January 2011, an Income tax tribunal ruled that Rs. 412 million was paid as kickbacks to the late Win Chadha and Italian businessman Ottavio Quattrocchi in the Swedish howitzer deal and the two are liable to tax in India on such income.[38]
2G spectrum scam
In 2010, in an audit report, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India charged the Congress lead government of India with improperly managing the allocation of 122 2G spectrum licenses in 2008. The report charged that officials in the government received bribes from various telecommunications companies and that, as a result, the licenses were issued at a price well below their true value. In a 2012 judgement, the Supreme Court of India declared the process invalid and revoked the licenses that had been issued. The then minister for communications and information technology, A. Raja, a member of the DMK, a party that was a part of the Congress led governing alliance, was indicted for criminal conspiracy, forgery and cheating and the case against him is currently being tried.[39]
Bribes to members of parliament
As per United States secret diplomatic cable number 162458 dated 17 July 2008, Congress Party insider Satish Sharma's political aide Nachiketa Kapur told a US diplomat on 16 July 2008 that the party paid INR 100 million (about $2.5 million) each to four members of parliament[40] to help the party narrowly survive a no-confidence motion.[41] Another Congress Party insider told the US Political Counsel in New Delhi that Congress Party cabinet minister Kamal Nath was also helping bribe members of parliament to help secure the votes.[40]
Coal block allocation scam
The Coal allocation scam is a political scandal concerning the Indian government's allocation of the nation's coal deposits to public sector entities (PSEs) and private companies.[42] In a draft report issued in March 2012, the Comptroller and Auditor General of India(CAG) office accused the Government of India of allocating coal blocks in an inefficient manner during the period 2004–2009, that resulted in a loss of
( hari krishnamurthy K. HARIHARAN)"think of them as Sand paper.
They Scratch & hurt you,
but in the end you are polished and they are finished. ''
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